RELEASE WEEKEND: Farnsworth & Sparkling Marquette

The wait is over! This weekend we welcome Farnsworth back into the tasting room with a benchmark example of our beloved variety. The story goes that Farnsworth first came to Lincoln Peak in 2005 as an experimental variety from the University of Minnesota, quickly finding a happy home in our soils. While the vineyard expanded, the university gave up on the variety and never released it, making our little 1.5-acre block the only known planting in the world.

We love Farnsworth for its big chewy tannins and complex medley of spice that makes Dr. Pepper seem one-dimensional. It’s a wine you might find yourself comparing to cool-climate Syrah or classic California Zinfandel, but make no mistake about it, Farnsworth is its own beautiful beast. The 2024 vintage treated Farnsworth well, with flawless fruit, massive sugar levels, and thick, ripe skins. After 10 months in barrel and another four in bottle, the wine is singing and is ready for its big debut.

This weekend also marks the release of a wine that we’ve been dreaming of making for a while: Sparkling Marquette. We’ve had a bit of a love affair with Lambrusco over the past couple years, swooning over its fruity, floral nose and juicy, bright bubbles. It’s such a perfect pairing for everything (or nothing at all) and as drier versions of Lambrusco have come into favor, we’ve begun to appreciate how interesting these wines can be. With its light tannin profile and complex bouquet, Marquette is an ideal candidate for sparkling red, and an abundance of fruit in 2024 meant we had to give it a shot. Featuring label art from the brilliant Deana Allgaier, these beautiful bottles are a must for the holiday table. We only made 17 cases so come in this weekend to grab yours!

2024 Sparkling Marquette
A traditional method, lightly sparkling red inspired by the great wines of Lambrusco. Light maceration on skins. Stainless. Six months en tirage. Brut nature. Think raspberry dark chocolate mousse with bubbles!
wild blackberry. brown sugar. dark chocolate.

2024 Farnsworth
From the original blocks of Farnsworth. Handpicked and fully destemmed with extended post-ferment maceration. Aged 10 months in neutral oak barrels. Intense spice, subtle fruit, and decadent, chewy tannin.
blueberry compote. tobacco leaf. ground coffee.

Austrian Wine Culture in Vermont

We lived in Austria for six months in 2019, working vintage at a couple wineries about 60 miles up the Danube from Vienna. Nichole spent most of her time in the cellar at Weingut Bründlmayer in the Kamptal region and Kevin was out in the vineyards at Weingut Jamek in the Wachau. Winegrowing has been the main business in this part of the world for 2,000 years and they’ve certainly figured some things out along the way. The growing season is somewhat similar to ours here in Vermont, and a lot of the philosophies and techniques that we practice at Lincoln Peak we learned during our time in Austria.

We also left Austria astounded and inspired by how this long history of growing grapes and making wine has affected the entire culture of the region, how proud the locals are of their wines, and how passionately they support the farmers that have been tending these impossibly steep vineyards by hand for generations.

The region is made up of small villages each with a handful of wineries, most of which are just big enough to support the family that runs it. Throughout the year, but especially in the fall, each winery in the village takes a turn opening their doors for a month at a time, offering the wines from their vineyard paired with local specialties like cured meats, cheeses, and fresh veggies.

This tradition is known as Heuriger, and has been an integral part of Austrian wine culture since the 18th century when Emperor Josef II passed a law allowing wineries to sell their own products, instead of just the noblemen. Just like the wines, every family’s Heuriger is a little different, but they all offer a cozy, humble atmosphere and the whole village seems to come out to drink the new wines, eat some hearty food, and chop it up with their neighbors.

After long days of picking fruit in the vineyard and fermenting wines in the cellar, we loved walking to the local Heuriger, nourishing our tired bodies, and tasting some amazing wines. We’re excited to bring this tradition to our community in Vermont and will be offering a Heuriger in the tasting room for the entire month of October. We’ll have new Austrian-inspired charcuterie boards paired with your favorite Lincoln Peak wines, as well as some sneak peeks at the new 2024 wines fermenting in the winery.